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After receiving an advanced reader’s copy of Neil Gaiman’s Fortunately, the Milk, I asked my class if they’d like me to read it aloud. Now keep in mind that while Neil Gaiman may have a huge adult fan base, he isn’t particularly well-known among young kids. Actually, I’d say he isn’t known at all. My 4th grade students were way too young when The Graveyard Book won the Newbery. As for Coraline which is even older, a couple said they’d found the movie scary and none knew the book. And so they were wary.  At their request I read aloud the flap copy which intrigued them and so they decided  I could proceed.  

The author rightly describes the story as “very silly.” That it is! The basic premise is that a father goes out to get some milk for his children’s cereal and has a spot of trouble ….well, quite a bit of trouble to be honest…before making it home.  There are dinosaurs (and I was very appreciative of those students who helped me to correctly pronounce their names), bodily fluids, a Floaty-Ball-Person-Carrier, alien green things, and a very intrepid dad.

The class really liked it. Many of them really, really liked it! Enough to beg me to read more and more of it over the next few days until I was done. (It was a quick read — I believe it took three or four sessions to finish it.) I had thought it might be a little young for them, but I was wrong. In fact, this shaggy dog of a tale ended up being perfectly calibrated to read aloud to nine and ten-year-olds.  Not that they would notice or care, but it felt a bit in the tradition, humor-wise, of Dr. Who, Douglas Adams, or Terry Pratchett while being very much its own thing.

I tweeted to Neil that I was reading it and he asked if they were laughing and I was able to assure him that they were. There was chortling, snorts, and bursts of glee. And so I can say for sure that it is loads of fun. (And this was without the art as the ARC has mostly sketches.) For some enthusiastic student responses please go here.

Over at the Muddy Colors blog, children’s book author and illustrator Adam Rex shared his creative process behind Chu’s Day–his picture book collaboration with Neil Gaiman.

The post includes a brief glimpse of Gaiman’s script for their next children’s book project, but we also get priceless shots of storyboards and character sketches from the current book. Here’s an excerpt from the essay:

In a novel you can just throw a bunch of blanks at the end to round out another eight pages if you have to, but with a picture book you need to be more precise. Add to this that nearly all picture books are either 32 or 40 pages long, and it gets even more restrictive. Few PBs are more than 40 pages. None are less than 32 (board books don’t count). I draw 32 or 40 or whatever little boxes on a single page of my sketchbook and start filling them in. I only have the most rudimentary notion what each page is going to look like, but this is where I usually discover the ideas that will make this my book as opposed to a book that was merely illustrated by me. Once I have all my pandas in a row I probably sketch character designs.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

There are some days when you are so utterly floored by delight that all you can do is throw up your hands and say to the universe, “I’m out!”  That was yesterday.  I’m out, folks.  I hit the top.  It’s all downhill from here.  And I’m so young!  It’s sad when you peak at 34.

The source of this joy/woe is Allie Bruce at the Bank Street School for Children’s library.  As you may know, if you attended my Children’s Literary Salon on Alternative Children’s Librarians, Allie is Bank Street’s children’s librarian and a more talented young ‘un you could not hope to find.  She asked me if I could come in one day to speak to some of her sixth graders about book jackets.  And since that is a topic I could talk about all day and night, I readily agreed.

Oh.  And while I was there, Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler and Jon Klassen would stop by to do their very first dual presentation of their new book The Dark.

But wait.  There’s more.

Neil Gaiman would also be stopping by.  And Mr. Handler’s wife Lisa Brown.  And Jon Scieszka might come along.  As well as Kerlan Collection guru Lisa Von Drasek (newly appointed as a National Book Award committee judge).

So . . . there was that.

That morning I headed on over with my handy dandy FlashDrive, forgetting to bring my camera.  Luckily everything in my purse is a camera these days.  My phone is a camera.  My iPod is a camera.  My lipstick, extra shoes, and hairbrush may all well have cameras in them, for all I know.

My presentation seemed to go all right.  Allie was nice about it anyway, and though I was mildly unnerved when Lisa Von Drasek appeared, taking a picture with an iPad (it is hard to stay calm in the face of a large flat surface aimed at your head) I didn’t panic once.  For the record, the kids assured me that none of them liked the old cover of Okay for Now and did prefer the new paperback jacket.  They also agreed with me that the British cover of Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos is heads and tails more interesting than the American one.  Duh.

When I was done I got to flit about.  In my flitting I saw that the Bank Street library’s children’s librarian’s office contains an ancient Jon Scieszka mask of yore.  The kind of mask that reminds you of Eraserhead more than anything else.  The mask is Lisa Von Drasek’s by right, and she had a fascinating story about when it was made and its original purpose.  Apparently when it first came out it was handed to a roomful of librarians.  Jon knew nothing about it and he walked in to see his own visage staring back at him from hundreds of faces.  “It was like Being John Malkovich“, he said.  Allie assured me that the kids who see it are fascinated.  Sometimes they commune with it on a near spiritual level.

Jon Klassen and Daniel Handler were slated to start signing a bunch of copies of their book but until they did we figured we’d hang out in The Quiet Room (which proved to be a bit of a misnomer).  I don’t own a clutch.  Not really.  So in lieu of one I tend to carry around a book.  Thus it was that the galley of Merrie Haskell’s Handbook for Dragon Slayers got lugged, poor thing, hither and thither, as I stuffed an interesting assortment of business cards, flyers, and Starbucks napkins into its pages.  Apparently I was worried that I’d have nothing to do and would need some entertainment.  Oh, the wrongness of little me.

Jon, Daniel, the remarkable Lisa Brown, her thoroughly enjoyable offspring (who had written one helluva graphic novel illustrated by his mom), Victoria Stapleton in shoes I should have caught on film, and a whole host of other folks flooded in.  Before long it was lunch.  Picture, if you will, what it is like to eat lunch across from Scieszka and Handler with Lisa Brown at your side and Lisa Von Drasek heading the table. I am not particularly good at socializing when overwhelmed.  I tend to get giggly.  And loud.  And I make strange little jokes that feed off of references that make sense only in my own head.  So while I was not particularly interesting at this gathering, the rest of the folks were superb.  In the future I’m taking my little audio recorder with me to capture this kind of situation on tape for the benefit of future generations.  See if I don’t.

So then Neil Gaiman comes in.  That was nice.  He’s a bit beardy right now.  Much with the stubble, which has a pleasant graying sheen to it.  Shocker: He wore black.  I’m not shy around famous folks, but Gaiman is a tricky one.  He’s a very kind famous person.  If you introduce yourself to him he’ll look you dead square in the eye, shake your hand, and seem interested in whatever babble proceeds to emanate from your mouth.  But famous people on his level are a bit difficult to converse with casually, and because they are at a distinct disadvantage to you (you know who they are, but they meet hundreds of people every day and can’t remember you as well) you can’t rely on them remembering any past conversations you might have had.  So I just skipped the whole meet Gaiman part of the day and chatted with Jon Klassen instead.  And Jon is a true doll.  The kind of guy you’d try to weasel yourself into sitting next to at a dinner party.  I’m trying to pin down exactly what his personality reminds me of, but it’s hard.  In any case, I lamented with him that he’d used such great material on his Boston Horn Book Globe Award speech now that he had to write a Caldecott one (he’s almost done with it, Roger, don’t worry!).

Then it was time for the presentation!  We proceeded to the Bank Street auditorium, which was apparently built on the side of a mountain.  It’s one of those auditoriums where you get the distinct feeling that if you tripped and fell down the stairs they’d have to pluck your various limbs out of the four corners of the room post-landing.  We sat up top, the kiddos sitting beneath us, closer to the stage.  And what lively kiddos they were too!  I suspect they were fresh off of lunch and had had their fill of pudding pops or whatever it is kids eat today (Note to Self: Check and see if pudding pops still exist . . . ditto Hydrox cookies).  They were bouncy.  Very bouncy.  Tres bouncy.  Handler played some background music for them which, interestingly, did not seem to affect them one way or another.  And so the fun began.

Now Daniel and Jon had never presented together.  Their PowerPoint presentation had not even been finished as of the night before.  And here they were, with Gaiman, ready to wow a room on a brand new book for the very first time.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us discuss the nature of comedic chemistry.  Think of all the great pairings of the past.  Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner.  Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.  Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.  Now think of the great comedic children’s book pairings out there.  Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith.  Mac Barnett and Adam Rex.  Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld (they get extra points for playing ping pong while they present).  But on this day we witnessed something new.  Something unique.  We witnessed, ladies and gentlemen, the greatest comic picture book pairing the world has ever seen.  I mean this honestly.

For you see, Mr. Handler had noticed something about Mr. Klassen.  He is a world class straight man.  A good straight man is exceedingly difficult to find.  You need someone who enjoys the spotlight but hasn’t the kind of ego that demands that they grab it away from their partner.  They need to be willing to be made a fool of, but the wit and cunning to turn it all around on their partner by the end.  In short, you need a Jon Klassen.

The entire schtick hinged on the idea that Mr. Handler (who proclaimed repeatedly that he was not Lemony Snicket to the pained cries of the delighted audience members) had zero respect for Mr. Klassen’s work on their book together.  In the course of their talk he disparaged Mr. Klassen’s clothes and talent.  Klassen, for his part, played along beautifully.  They alternated seemingly random slides of varying importance.  It was fairly clear that the slides were a combination of Handler’s old standbys (he’s in an old photograph phase right now that’s doing very well by him) with Klassen’s (in which he shows various important pieces of art from his youth, including a shot of Frog & Toad, and repeats how frightened he was of them when he was a child).

When Mr. Snicket starts to read the book with Mr. Klassen illustrating alongside him, the tension escalates.  Handler denies Mr. Klassen the shiny red apple he’d really like to eat.  He blindfolds him and makes him draw sans eyes.  He brings on Gaiman and claims he’s now going to read the book in his best Neil Gaiman imitation (Klassen makes fun of the “imitation” continually).  And then, when everything is reaching a crescendo . . . Klassen turns everything on its head and Handler runs off screaming.  I won’t give away why.  Bank Street recorded the whole thing and I’ll post it here when I can.

The kids, for the record, ate this thing up like it was a (perhaps nonexistent) pudding pop.  They laughed.  They screamed.  Mostly they screamed.  I’m not entirely certain if Handler and Klassen (and Gaiman for that matter) were ready for the level of identification the kids made with poor Mr. Klassen.  Handler told his blindfolded illustrator that both of them would blindfold themselves and then read and draw without their eyes.  This was, of course, a lie and the kids could not help but scream to Mr. Klassen that Mr. Handler was welching on his half of the deal.  There was an interesting level of desperation to their cries.  Handler’s an old hand in dealing with child panic and outrage, but Klassen dealt with it beautifully as well.  It was very satisfying to watch.  You should have heard les enfants terrible when Handler started eating Jon’s apple.

When the video is up and running I will let you know.  It’ll make your day.  Meantime, a big thank you to the folks at Little, Brown for bringing these heavyweights together and to Bank Street for hosting them.  And thanks, of course, to Allie Jane Bruce for inviting me and allowing me to report on what, without a doubt, was the highlight of the year.  Methinks I’ll go off and relive it a couple times just for kicks.

Jenny Brown living the dream with Allie Bruce close by.

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Although once known for combative rhetoric and an aggressive stance, McFarlane Toys CEO Todd McFarlane sounded a conciliatory note when asked about the return of Angela in the pages of ULTRON WAR #10. McFarlane once fought a bitter lawsuit over the ownership of Angela with Neil Gaiman, and perhaps the settlement included a non-disparagement clause?

“Neil Gaiman and I had a resolution in our legal dispute, and as part of that he ended up with the rights of Angela,” the Spawn creator told Newsarama. “Whatever Neil chooses to do with something that he owns is at his complete and utter discretion.”

“The health of the industry is based upon having good stories and good characters, and a wide customer base,” McFarlane said to Newsarama. “If bringing some of these characters back to the fold in a meaningful way adds to that, then it just strengthens our industry.”

“Good stories that entertain are something that we all should applaud on any level,” McFarlane said. “Whether we’re doing it directly at Image Comics, or at our competition, it helps keep our industry that we love alive. I will sit back and be as interested as anyone else.”

Reviving the lost art of the radio drama, BBC4 has released the first episode of an radio adaptation of Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman‘s 1996 novel.

Follow this link to listen online. James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Christopher Lee, Benedict Cumberbatch and many other actors star in the adaptation. Here’s more about the show:

An act of kindness sees Richard Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into a subterranean world under the streets of London. Stopping to help an injured girl on a London street, Richard is thrust from his workaday existence into the strange world of London Below. So begins a curious and mysterious adventure deep beneath the streets of London, a London of shadows where the tube cry of ‘Mind the Gap’ takes on new meaning; for the inhabitants of this murky domain are those who have fallen through the gaps in society, the dispossessed, the homeless.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In May, HarperCollins will publish Make Good Art, a Chip Kidd-designed book version of a Neil Gaiman commencement address. Gaiman’s speech at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia went viral last year, sharing “secret freelancer knowledge” that all kinds of writers, editors and freelance workers can use.

We’ve embedded a video of his speech above–it also contains the best advice he ever received, delivered by the great novelist Stephen King. Here is Gaiman’s secret freelancer knowledge:

You get work however you get work, but keep people keep working in a freelance world (and more and more of today’s world is freelance), because their work is good, because they are easy to get along with and because they deliver the work on time. And you don’t even need all three! Two out of three is fine. People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it is good and they like you. And you don’t have to be as good as everyone else if you’re on time and it’s always a pleasure to hear from you.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Here are some literary events to pencil in your calendar. To get your event posted on our calendar, visit our Facebook Your Literary Event page. Please post your event at least one week prior to its date.

The Center for Fiction will be celebrating the publication of Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do. Join in on Thursday, February 21st starting 7 p.m. (New York, NY)

The Moth will be having a StorySLAM event on “Patters” at HousingWorks Bookstore Cafe. Check it out on Thursday, February 21st starting 7 p.m. (New York, NY)

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

My youngest daughter just got given a copy of Neil Gaiman’s new picture book, Chu’s Day, for her birthday. I loved it so much, that I had to write about it immediately.

Neil Gaiman is no stranger to books in which text and graphics combine to tell a story. After all, he made his name writing comics and graphic novels such a Sandman and Books of Magic. And he’s gone on to write illustrated children’s books such as The Dangerous Alphabet (illustrated by Gris Grimly) and the wonderful The Wolves in the Walls (illustrated by Dave McKean). But I think this must be his first book for much younger kids (please shout me down and correct me in the comments section, if I’m wrong about this).

Chu’s Day is a story about a little panda with a big sneeze. And it is a charming book. It is cute; it is clever; it is simple; and is utterly delightful.

Gaimen’s text is superb with its play on words and sounds. Chu’s Day sounds like Tuesday, but also alludes to the sound of a sneeze — Aaaachooooooooo! But just as Gaiman knows well how to use words, he also knows how to not use them. So many picture books are overly wordy, with the text and pictures telling the reader exactly the same thing. Not so with this book. Gaiman holds back, allowing the pictures to add to the story — to show the reader things that are not said. Nowhere does the text actually describe the outcome of Chu’s big sneeze — that is all done with the illustrations. This allows preschoolers to discover important elements of the story for themselves (without having to have all the revelations read to them).

And the illustrations by Adam Rex are BEAUTIFUL! There is so much to look at on every page. The detail, particularly in the library and the circus, is glorious. You could ignore the words and just stare at these pictures for ages.

I’m being very effusive about this book, but it is everything a good young children’s picture book should be — engaging text; gorgeous illustrations; and a touch of wit to keep the parents amused.

Catch ya later,  George

PS. Follow me on Twitter

Check out my DVD blog, Viewing Clutter.

Latest Post: DVD Review  — Doctor Who: The Legacy Collection

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TweetOkay, it’s not a comic. But it is a lavishly illustrated and pleasingly offbeat childrens’ book by the great comics and prose writer Neil Gaiman (his latest longer work is THE GRAVEYARD BOOK) and the best-selling picture book artist Adam Rex (FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH). Last spring at MoCCA Fest, the Children’s Literature panel spent [...]

Novelist Neil Gaiman revealed the covers for two upcoming books on Tumblr.

We’ve included the cover image poster for The Ocean at the End of the Lane above. Below, we’ve included links to free posters you can download for your computer.

The author also showed the Chip Kidd-designed cover for Make Good Art, a book version of the commencement address that Gaiman delivered last year.

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Well, this is certainly one of the most British things I’ve ever heard. Please whistle the theme tune to The Archers while you read this article.

Yesterday Neil Gaiman announced on his blog that BBC Radio 4 have gathered a stunning collection of actors to record a radio adaptation of his story Neverwhere, which was first seen on television in the 1990s. Co-written by Lenny Henry, the story was sort-of simultaneously adapted into a novel by Gaiman, which was subsequently rewritten and adapted into radio plays and, well, all sorts of stuff happened with it, really.

This adaptation for radio, however, has managed to gather an incredible line-up of actors – several of whom sent this message across to Gaiman, which he shared earlier:

Which sight excites you most? Manly David Harewood? Game of Throne’s Natalie Dormer? James McAvoy? Giles from Buffy? Benedict Crumpetpatch? Hold on tight, because this photo only skims the surface of an utterly incredible cast.

Also appearing will be Andrew Sachs, Sophie Okonedo, Christopher Lee, Don Gilet, Johnny Vegas, Bernard Cribbins, Lucy Cohu and Romola Garai. And that’s still not all! Gaiman also teases that there will be a few other secret cameos and appearances tucked in amongst everything else. Zoinks.

Scheduled for release as a 6-episode series in 2013, Neverwhere will be produced by Dirk Maggs. Okay, you can stop whistling now.

Writing HBO AMERICAN GODS pilot with @tordotcom AMERICAN GODS playlist playing to keep me company. j.mp/SeMHHC

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) November 28, 2012

On Twitter, Neil Gaiman shared the fact that he is currently writing an American Gods pilot for HBO. We’ve embedded the tweet above.

Click here to read the first five chapters of the award-winning novel, “a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth.” The news of the possible adaptation emerged last year.

If you want to listen to the American Gods playlist on Spotify, follow this link. We’ve embedded the songlist below, a great collection of writing music.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

With all news about Hurricane #Sandy , it may be scary for children, good time to get out the books & read to them.Read.gov

— Craig Fugate (@CraigatFEMA) October 29, 2012

As Hurricane Sandy nears the East Coast, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate urged parents to read with their children.

If you want to know how Hurricane Sandy will affect your state, visit the State-by-State  Guide to Hurricane Sandy at The New York Times.

Readers have been using the #StormReads hashtag to talk about the books they are reading during this difficult time. We’ve embedded some of these tweets below.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Audible has released a new audio short story from author Neil Gaiman called Click-Clack the Rattlebag and is running a charitable promotion to help promote the work.

To encourage downloads, through Halloween Audible will donate $1 per download from Audible.com to DonorsChoose.org up to $100,000, and 50p per download from Audible.co.uk to Booktrust. Both charities promote literacy.

The audio book is free and is read by Gaiman himself. Here is more about the story: ”

‘What kind of story would you like me to tell you?’ ‘Well,’ he said, thoughtfully, ‘I don’t think it should be too scary, because then when I go up to bed, I will just be thinking about monsters the whole time. But if it isn’t just a little bit scary, then I won’t be interested. And you make up scary stories, don’t you?’”

To help spread the word, Gaiman is encouraging readers to tweet the hashtag #ScareUs after downloading the story.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Halloween is almost here, and all GalleyCat readers should be planning their literary costume ideas. Below, we’ve collected five obsessive and brilliant costumes based on books or comic books.

What’s the best literary Halloween costume you’ve ever seen? Share all your ideas at the handy #literarycostumes hastag created by Random House last year. On Flickr, you can explore the Literary Halloween Costumes group to find costumes ranging from Edgar Allan Poe to Alice in Wonderland.

1. Make a wolf suit like Max from Where the Wild Things Are. For the child in your life, you can honor the legacy of the great Maurice Sendak with a homemade kid’s costume from Running With Scissors (photo embedded above).

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In 2010, novelist Neil Gaiman created the “All Hallow’s Read,” literary holiday, a night to give someone you love a scary book.

The writer explained the new tradition in the video embedded above–what spooky book will you share with your friends and family? Here’s more from the official site:

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

A gunman attacked Sikh community members worshiping at Sikh Temple of Wisconsin near Milwaukee yesterday and many wonder how they can help the community recover.

Novelist Neil Gaiman shared a link to an IndieGoGo campaign to help the Milwaukee community and the group has already raised nearly $40,000. Here’s more about the fundraising efforts:

We are raising funds publicly and non-anonymously to ensure that there are no concerns about accountability and transparency.  We anticipate that the Milwaukee Sikh community will require substantial financial support, as an adjunct to the warmth and respect that Sikhs and friends of Sikhs will provide all over the world. It will take some time before the precise needs of the Milwaukee Sangat are enumerated.  We plan to work closely with the local Sikh community and doctors to determine the best way to distribute funds. One of the organizers has direct ties to the Milwaukee Sikh Sangat and has partnered with active members to determine the best way to distribute funds.

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In a post on her artistic techniques, Colleen Doran reveals that she’s working on a graphic novel with Neil Gaiman, to be published by Dark Horse. The two previously collaborated on issues of THE SANDMAN.

The post wpould be interesting in its discussion of pencilling techniques alone!

My pencil technique is exactly the opposite of what they teach now in art school. I do not use the side of the pencil, or graphite. I use the sharp tip of the pencil, and build up everything from hundreds of strokes. This is the way old masters drew back in the day with silverpoint. It’s a look I love, but almost no one does it because it is so laborious. The popular prejudice is for the 1950-ish commercial art drawing style. I like that, but it’s not what I want to do myself.

I am using this technique on the new Neil Gaiman graphic novel I am doing for Dark Horse. You can imagine how happy I am to be doing this project! The drawings will then be colored with thin washes of watercolor, digitally, or both.

As for what this book might be about…we’ll have to call out the legion of internet detectives for that.

Ah and here you go:

She is also currently adapting a Neil Gaiman short story into graphic novel form for Dark Horse, which will be released in 2012.

By Steve Morris

Congratulations to all concerned – and one note before we head any further. It appears that, whilst picking up his award for Doctor Who, Neil Gaiman possibly confirmed that he will be writing a second episode for next year:

…only a fool or a mad man would try to do it again… so I’m on the third draft.

Ooh! We’ll keep you updated on that. But for now: the winners!

BEST NOVEL

Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor)

BEST NOVELLA

“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s, September/October 2011)

BEST NOVELETTE

“Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com)

BEST SHORT STORY

“The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2011)

BEST RELATED WORK

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls, and Graham Sleight (Gollancz)

BEST GRAPHIC STORY

Digger by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM

Game of Thrones (Season 1) (HBO)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM

“The Doctor’s Wife” (Doctor Who) (BBC Wales)

BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM

Sheila Williams

BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM

Lou Anders

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

Betsy Wollheim

BEST SEMIPROZINE

Locus, edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.

BEST FANZINE

SF Signal, edited by John DeNardo

BEST FAN WRITER

Jim C. Hines

BEST FAN ARTIST

Maurine Starkey

BEST FANCAST

SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente

Somewhere in NYC, a cop is listening to an angry short artist in heels spewing obscenities in four different languages #freemollycrabapple

— Warren Ellis (@warrenellis) September 17, 2012

Artist Molly Crabapple was arrested during Occupy Wall Street anniversary protests today. She recorded her own arrest on Twitter.

The Marvel and DC Comics artist instantly earned responses from writers online, getting online support from Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis and journalist Laurie Penny. Ellis even launched a #freemollycrabapple hashtag on Twitter. Crabapple recently used Kickstarter to fund Shell Game, an angry work dedicated to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Here’s more from Ellis: “Interestingly, what evidently happens is that NYPD insisted everyone get on the pavement, and once they were on the pavement they were arrested.  What I am pleased about is that Molly’s arrest wasn’t one of the violent ones – because nobody in the NYC power structure gives a shit about sending the message that they will beat non-violent protestors to show how devoted they are to preserving the peace of breakfast in the financial district – and that, frankly, she gets to see the inside of a black maria and a cop shop.  Because that is going to give her a wealth of new stuff to draw angry, in the mode of her Shell Game pieces.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Author Neil Gaiman posted “A Letter from a Scared Actress” on his site. In the letter, actress Anna Gurji explained how she was tricked (along with a crew of other actors) into participating in the film shoot that became Innocence of Muslims.

The director (who is now in hiding) took a seemingly harmless science fiction script about a comet falling in Egypt and re-dubbed original dialogue with offensive commentary about the life Muhammad. The film has since incited anger around world, and the Gurji wrote “I feel shattered.” Here is an excerpt:

It’s painful to see how our faces were used to create something so atrocious without us knowing anything about it at all. It’s painful to see people being offended with the movie that used our faces to deliver lines (it’s obvious the movie was dubbed) that we were never informed of, it is painful to see people getting killed for this same movie, it is painful to hear people blame us when we did nothing but perform our art in the fictional adventure movie that was about a comet falling into a desert and tribes in ancient Egypt fighting to acquire it, it’s painful to be thought to be someone else when you are a completely different person.

(Via)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Author Neil Gaiman made a guest appearance in JL8 the past few weeks, sharing some literary wisdom with a grade school-aged Superman and Batman.

Check out the bi-weekly web comic in reverse order on Tumblr. However, you can read the whole Gaiman series by following these links (in order): JL8 #69, then JL8 #70, then JL8 #71, then JL8 #72 and conclude with JL8 #73

Here’s more about the comic: “‘JL8′ is a side project of ‘Gifted’ creator Yale Stewart. A weekly webcomic, it follows the adventures of popular DC comic characters as children in elementary school. Mostly funny, with a dash of pathos, it should be an enjoyable read for any fans of DC Comics characters as well as people who enjoy the traditional syndicated comic strip. ‘JL8′ is not related to DC Comics in any way, and is created for the sole purpose of entertainment.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

What is All Hallow's Read?

In the words of Neil Gaiman, creator of All Hallow's Read (he's so silly):



Basically, you give someone a scary book for Halloween. Appropriately scary, of course. It can be a kid, a grown up, anyone you know (or don't know. Even strangers like to read. And who doesn't want  a free book?)

If you go the All Hallow's Read site, you will find lots of answers to FAQs and also cool extras, such as this book plate that you can print out and affix to the book you are giving away. Or print it onto card stock and make it a bookmark.

What is All Hallow's Read?

In the words of Neil Gaiman, creator of All Hallow's Read (he's so silly):



Basically, you give someone a scary book for Halloween. Appropriately scary, of course. It can be a kid, a grown up, anyone you know (or don't know. Even strangers like to read. And who doesn't want  a free book?)

If you go the All Hallow's Read site, you will find lots of answers to FAQs and also cool extras, such as this book plate that you can print out and affix to the book you are giving away. Or print it onto card stock and make it a bookmark.